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14/04/2013

Doctor Who: Cold War

After 39 (!!) years, the
Ice Warriors are back, BACK, BACK!!

In storytelling terms, the Ice Warriors enjoy far more
potential than either the Cybermen or Sontarans yet have remained dormant in
the revived Doctor Who canon until
now. Mark Gatiss’ taut subterranean tale re-invigorates them in much the same
way as `Dalek` did for the metal meanies and similarly feels as much a prequel
to something larger as it is an event in its own right. `Cold War` manages to simultaneously
unveil the Ice Warriors of old yet breathe enough new life into them to suggest
they have a viable future and just as he did with `The Unquiet Dead`, the
writer subtly weaves between old and new Who
with panache.

Of course there is just the one Ice Warrior to be seen
here but what a specimen! Looking proper high and mighty, Skaldak puts most of
his predecessors to shame. It is a striking image that suits the new series as
much as did the old and thankfully the breathy scaly voice is still there too.
The cramped submarine set adds to the general impression of size and power. You
have to hand it to Nick Briggs too; having established definitive voices for
both Daleks and Cybermen he completes the trio with a first class Ice Warrior
vocal.

At first the 1983 setting seems random but in the context of the villain starts
to make sense. Gatiss brings back memories of that crazy era when – as the Doctor
puts it- everything was big. And Ultravox ruled the charts. Imagine that. There is a lovely role from David Warner as Professor
Grisenko a sort of social touchstone; an elderly Russian scientist who loves
Western pop music. As Skaldak’s actions
begin to become increasingly threatening Grisenko’s interruptions to the
tension are a highlight. That’s why Skaldak doesn’t kill him of course; I think
he secretly likes the same music! Liam Cunningham (once a potentlal Doctor and
nowadays best known from Games of Thrones)
is another strong presence in an episode that for the first time in a while
forces guest stars to the fore and keeps them there. His Captain Zhukov is
practical and sensible.

Visually the episode is packed with strong imagery;
Douglas MacKinnon really taking us deep into the claustrophobic setting. There’s
a surprisingly voluminous amount of water spurting about and excellent lighting
which along with some odd camera angles gives the whole thing believability. The
sequence where we glimpse the Martian’s face through smoke is particularly effective
and it might have been better not to have shown its CGI face in full at the end.

This is what the new BBC ident should be!

The episode proves less predictable than you imagine it
will be. For a start, Skaldak soon sheds his body armour to become a skittering
barely seen threat capering around the pipes of the submarine. His methodical yet
cruel methods of researching the humans hark back to a Doctor Who all but gone from the modern series in which characters
are despatched nastily but everyone gets on with it. Clara’s reaction to the carnage is very well written
and played at just the right tone. The potential trouble maker amongst the crew
is killed off soon enough to stop him becoming the expected cliché who inadvertently
save the day. And despite Clara’s attempts to empathise with Skaldak- and
previous references to his sister- there is no firm climb down from our scaly
antagonist.

In fact if there is one criticism it is that the story literally
stops. In a moment, Skaldak is rescued and, er, that’s all. Hopefully having
gone to the trouble of making such a fantastic costume and impressive spaceship
this really is just a taste of icier things to come. Gatiss appears to have
imagined a whole Martian society and protocol which one hopes we will see some
of. Whether it does turn out to be a one
off or just the start of something more, `Cold War` is a great episode, packed
with incident, old school threat, smart cultural notes and the triumphant
return of one of the show’s best ever aliens.